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Class Ability Comparisons
Assault Class Tactical Sense vs. Aggression *'Tactical Sense' always-on defensive boost guarantees at least 5%. ** Tactical Sense allows an soldier to end a turn in partial cover, and still retaining "high cover" quality. This allows scouting for a Squadsight Sniper, and more direct attack paths to the enemy while remaining in relative safety. It helps when being flanked, aiding in dodging potentially lethal critical fire. ** Tactical Sense has no effect against "melee enemies" (i.e. Chryssalids and Berserkers) which hit automatically. *** Tactical Sense causes aliens to ignore "high cover" soldiers; instead opting to shoot at another "easier" soldier on the front line, when available. This can negate the advantage of Tactical Sense in certain engagements. *** Tactical Sense is less relevant late in the game, where aliens have significant Aim bonuses, psionics, and other specials. At this point, the most efficient counter is to kill them before they get a turn to act, and as such Aggression contributes more to clearing groups effectively. On the other hand, as the early game is so difficult and the late game is relatively easy, Tactical Sense may be more advantageous overall. * Aggression always-on bonus critical chance guarantees at least 10%. ** Aggression's bonus fully stacked is +30%, combined with a shotgun (+20%) on a flank (+50%), results in 100% critical hit chance (except against Hardened enemies); this makes risky flanking maneuvers a sure bet and a decisive victory. *** Aggression aids in overcoming critical-chance reduction on enemies with the Hardened property, such as Sectopods, Ethereals, and Cyberdiscs. ** Choosing Aggression means it rarely stacks to 30%. ***Moving up with more than one alien alive and in sight is risky and often hazardous since you can potentially activate more aliens as you charge in, resulting in the Assault getting overrun. ***Due to the possibility of front-line fighters missing their targets and leaving the Assault compromised and surrounded, the prudent Assault generally moves up last, after all other shots have been decided; thus, a lot of the aliens providing the Aggression bonuses might be killed. ***Hold back on guaranteed kill actions such as rockets, Sniper shots from high ground, or grenades until Aggression Assaults have fired to preserve their bonus. Lightning Reflexes vs. Close and Personal *'Close and Personal' tactically allows the soldier to move in to point blank range (i.e. within 4-tiles), shoot at no cost, and then move back into cover; or take three shots per turn (if combined with Rapid Fire). Note that this ability is defined such for Enemy Within; in the vanilla game this ability merely gives an increased critical chance against adjacent targets but does not remove the action cost. ** Close and Personal synergizes very well with Ghost Grenade or Ghost Armor; particularly useful in lategame, allowing a soldier to close in and unload multiple shots against high valued targets. *** Choosing Close and Personal means though that the squad sacrifices mobility: if the enemy is in Overwatch, then they may have fewer "safe" options to trigger it. *'Lightning Reflexes' forces the first reaction shot against this soldier each turn to miss. **Lightning Reflexes allows negation of enemy Overwatch and Suppression without worry of reaction fire, thus freeing up your squad to move into a better position. As it's not always clear if an enemy is on Overwatch in the fog of war, Lightning Reflexes remains useful on all playthroughs. ***Lightning Reflexes is highly useful against Overwatched robotic enemies and high-damage units (eg. Sectopod's). ***Lightning Reflexes dominates Council Missions where Thin Men frequently spawn on Overwatch behind your lines which can make the first few Council Missions the most challenging missions of a whole game playthrough. *** Choosing Lightning Reflexes means though that the squad sacrifices firepower: if the enemy is a high valued target, then they may lack the means of killing (or capturing) it in one turn. Flush vs. Rapid Fire *'Flush' hits for 50% damage but has a +30 Aim, and combined with +20 Aim from Scope and Light Plasma Rifle is enough to overcome high cover and hit any target reliably. Flush will also force enemy to re-seek cover, often from high to low ones, which is what you want. It takes a lot of munitions though. * Rapid Fire's two shots at 60% is always better than one shot at 75%. Since the assault is often flanking foes within 10' tiles, the range bonus makes up for the Aim minus of this skill. While it gives a -15 Aim penalty, taking two shots will average out to more damage in most cases, unless the initial chance to hit was 36% or less. Close Combat Specialist vs. Bring 'Em On * Close Combat Specialist confers an "always on" reaction shot against any enemy within 4 tiles. **Close Combat Specialist will always "trigger"; unfortunate, this includes soldiers' under the effect of Ghost Armor, Mimetic Skin or a Ghost Grenade. The only way to prevent this is to have the soldier maintain a discreet distance from the enemies while cloaked. * Bring 'Em On adds 1 damage on critical hits for each enemy the squad can see (up to 5). ** Bring 'Em On synergies with Aggression and Close and Personal in allowing an Assault armed with a shotgun to reliably deliver hard hitting critical hits at close range. Resilience vs. Killer Instinct * Resilience confers immunity to critical hits. ** Resiliences' critical hit immunity (along with additional effects) can be provided by Combat Stims. * Killer Instinct grants +50% critical damage to Run and Gun. **Killer Instinct synergies with Rapid Fire and Bring 'Em On. conventional shotguns inflict a minimum of 10 damage; up to a maximum of 31 with an Alloy Cannon if five enemies are visible, per critical hit. Heavy Class Sniper Class Snap Shot vs. Squadsight *'Snap Shot' removes the sniper rifle's restriction on firing and Overwatch after moving. Any shots taken suffer a -20 Aim penalty. ** Snap Shot is considerably more flexible in usage compared to Squadsight. Being able to move with the squad and not require a "nests", allows full use of certain Sniper abilities which are otherwise of limited use to their Squadsight counterparts. *'Squadsight' allows sniping at targets in an ally's sight radius. ** Squadsight requires unobstructed line-of-sight (LoS): this means frequently hunting for "Snipers' Nests" with unobstructed view of most of the battlefield in order to make the most of this ability. Gunslinger vs. Damn Good Ground *'Gunslinger' confers 2 bonus damage with pistols. *'Damn Good Ground' confers +10 Aim and +10 Defense against enemies at lower elevation, when on elevated ground or flying with Archangel Armor, in addition to the usual elevation bonuses. Disabling Shot vs. Battle Scanner *Battle Scanner is a scanning device that, when thrown, creates a new source of vision. *Disabling Shot allows a shot that causes the target's main weapon to malfunction, forcing it to waste a turn "fixing it". *Battle Scanner reveals all cloaked enemies within its scan range, making scanners useful for uncovering Seekers who have gone into Stealth mode. *Battle Scanner's scouting utility is reduced by the presence of the Mimetic Skin Gene Mod, which allows for safe, effective and unlimited scouting; however, the stealth-revealing ability is valuable in the early game prior to researching Bioelectric Skin. Executioner vs. Opportunist The choice here is an conditional ability thats active 50% of time vs. an unconditional ability that can always be activated on your own terms. *'Executioner' helps to finish off wounded enemies *'Opportunist' allows for the setup Reaction Fire ambushes. Double Tap vs. In The Zone The true "force multiplier" potential of the Sniper Class unlocks at the Colonel rank. Both abilities presented at this stage allow multiple shots per turn, but in different ways: high-variance reactive sniping, and low-variance proactive sniping. Your Squad Tactics and abilities need to be taken into consideration. *'Double Tap' allows the use of the first action for shooting instead of moving. If the soldier has an excellent enough position, they can potentially shoot twice per turn, either at the same target or two separate targets. ** Double Tap synergies with Squadsight and Disabling Shot, and excels at dealing double damage quickly to high valued targets or allow for the neutralizing of two weaker targets in the same turn. (Compared to In The Zone, it doesn't require any specific "Squad Tactics" to setup or to pull off.) ** Double Tap is limited by the cooldown, which only allows the ability to be used every other turn. (It is activated automatically when taking the first shot; cooldown can be tracked by opening the Sniper's status window: when Double Tap is available, it will be shown in beneficial status effects.) *** Double Tap is not Bullet Swarm for snipers - the second action MUST be a shot, Disabling Shot, or Headshot; this may result in the player having to use the "End Turn" button if a target isn't available for the sniper. *** Double Tap does not synergies with Snap Shot - the ability's benefit is negated if the soldier is moving in that turn. *'In The Zone' allows for sustained fire - for as long as the soldier continues to kill visible targets that are flanked or exposed - before needing to reload. ** In The Zone is effectively an "AoE attack" with the potential to pick off the two Drone escorts of a Sectopod, or the Sectoid escorts of a Mechtoid or Sectoid Commander, or the damaged survivors of a pack of Mutons, or every member of a pack of Floaters. **In The Zone is highly dependent on squad tactics - requiring the destruction of alien cover by allied action - and thus synergies with: *** Frag Grenades and Alien Grenades *** Assault's Flush ability *** Heavy's Suppression, Danger Zone, Mayhem, and Shredder Rocket abilities *** M.E.C.'s Collateral Damage, Kinetic Strike Module, Flamethrower, and Grenade Launcher abilities **In The Zone synergies with Snap Shot and Opportunist while in Overwatch against flanked foes. Certain enemy types (i.e. Chryssalids, Zombie, Berserkers and especially Drones) frequently ignore cover, making them extremely easy targets for the Sniper. Support Class MEC Trooper MEC Troopers have the most complex skills and customize builds of any soldier class. Inherent Ability MEC Trooper skills should compliment their inherent ability for a common purpose. *'Shock-Absorbent Armor' for flanking and close-quarter rushes. *'Body Shield' for tanking and mid-range firefights. *'Platform Stability' for ambushes and long-range sniping. *'Distortion Field' for supporting rigid squad formations. Advanced Fire Control vs. Automated Threat Assessment Advanced Fire Control is preferred for most cases, and only if in conjunction with Body Shield. *'Advanced Fire Control' is functionally identical to Opportunist (without the critical damage). **Advanced Fire Control's reaction fire often kills weaker foes attempting to outflank or run away in one hit. * Automated Threat Assessment increases defense to 25 while on Overwatch. **Body Shield increases this defense to 45 (which is more than full cover). ** Automated Threat Assessment ends if the MEC Trooper takes an Overwatch shot, further reducing its utility. **Automated Threat Assessment works best with Kinetic Strike Module when MEC Trooper falls short a few tiles of an alien in full cover; or in situations where a normal shot would would most likely miss. Vital-Point Targeting vs. Damage Control Damage Control is preferred for most cases, due to AIs preference for targets with a high hit probability. *'Vital-Point Targeting' increases the Miniguns' 6-8 damage range, generating a reliable source of 10-damage hits. **Vital-Point Targeting applies to standard shots only; not Flamethrower, Proximity Mines, or Grenade Launcher. *'Damage Control' effectively grants MEC Troopers circa 4-6 health per turn in Firefights. **Damage Controls mitigation comparatively prolongs a MEC Troopers' lifespan by a marginal amount; two consecutive hits from a Thin Man's 6-9 damage range kills a Level 1 MEC. Jetboot Module vs. One For All Jetboots is preferred for most cases, as clustered units will trigger AI's grenades and Area of Effects. *'Jetboots' can be used to reach high ground and grant good fields of fire over the map. **Jetboots and Kinetic Strike can quickly close distances with the enemy by moving straight over normally impassable terrain. *'One for All' is functionally identical to Alloy S.H.I.V.'s Armored Shell ability. **One For All ends if the MEC Trooper takes an Overwatch shot, moves, or uses any other low-tier abilities, further reducing its utility. ***High-tier abilities do not cancel the effect. Repair Servos vs. Expanded Storage Expanded Storage is preferred for most cases, due to superior utility and healing options. *'Repair Servos' effectively grants MEC Troopers circa 4-6 health per mission. **Repair Servos, by itself, is inferior to Damage Control, Restorative Mist and Savior Support. ***Expanded Storage + Restorative Mist heals 4 per use for two uses, for a total of 8 points of healing. ****This rises to 6 per use for 12 total after researching Improved Medikit. ***Restorative Mist heals in a small AoE instead of just healing the MEC. ****Restorative Mist requires an action to use, as opposed to Repair Servos, which is passive. **Repair Servos should only be take of no other viable healing options are available, and only in conjunction with MEC Troopers defensive skills. *'Expanded Storage' Increases MEC Troopers' primary weapon base ammo by 50%, and allows 1 additional use of Restorative Mist, Grenade Launcher and Proximity Mine Launcher in each mission. **Repair Servos might be preferable for Grenade Launcher MEC Troopers for a balance of healing and offense. Absorption Fields vs. Reactive Targeting Sensors Reactive Targeting Sensors is preferred for most cases, due to MECs having very high health pools and are Hardened; and only if in conjunction with Body Shield. *'Absorption Fields' effectively reduces incoming damage to 33% of MEC Trooper's maximum Health. **Absorption Field is comparable to the Assault's Resilience ability **Absorption Fields' threshold damage reduction, prevent all damage above a certain threshold, while having no effect on damage below that threshold. ***Absorption Field scales backwards; its usefulness gradually decreases as the MEC Troopers' HP bar increases. ****Absorption Field is vital to the survival of a brand-new MEC-1. ****Absorption Field is useless to the survival of a fully upgraded MEC-3. ***Absorption Field contributes weird occurrences such as a Sectopod hitting an baseline MEC for 4 damage with a cannon that can normally deal 15 damage. **Absorption Field almost never applies itself on difficulties below Impossible, as on average, only Sectopods deal more than 33% of a MEC Troopers health (without critical damage). *'Reactive Targeting Sensor' effectively provides a free kill during the MEC Troopers' turn, provided there's enough ammo to do so. **Reactive Targeting Sensor depletes ammo fast, often against insignificant targets with a very low probability of connecting return fire. **Reactive Targeting Sensor's synergy with the aim bonuses from Advanced Fire Control or Platform Stability are currently unknown. 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